Earnest money is money paid to ensure a buyer's adherence to the contract. Earnest money is also part of the purchase price. It can be in the form of a personal check, and is submitted with your written offer to the seller or seller's broker. Buyers frequently can get their earnest money refunded to them should they discover questionable conditions or cannot acquire financing; if the offer was not accepted by the seller; of if other terms written in the contract to purchase are not met in a timely fashion and/or satisfactory. The earnest money you can expect to pay, on average, would be somewhere between $1,000. and $2,000.   « less

Yes, now, more than ever, is an excellent time to buy a house, as the number of homes available to a buyer are up substantially, and the price of the average home that sells has dropped dramtically. Some sellers are willing to make deep discounts to buyers, including concessions on paying closing costs. This is also a good time to buy a house if you are selling a smaller house. As our market rebounds and heads upward, real estate prices will increase by a percentage, so if the house you are buying is larger and/or more costly than the house you are selling, your new house's value will increase over the house you are selling. It has been our experience that mortgage lenders are willing to lend money and have money available to good borrowers, so don't be afraid to buy due to the condition of our economy. Eventually, the housing market will turn around at which point prices will only go up, do don't wait to buy the house of your dreams at a bargain price.   « less

Good question, Debbie. On the average, real estate brokers sell houses for 10% more than houses that are listed for sell by owners. A realtor can sell your property for more money, on average, because of their extensive networking, advertising, availability, and market knowledge. For Sale by Owner, a/k/a FSBO, properties are perceived as being lower priced and easier to negotiate and, as a result, owners are more willing to lower their prices because they are not paying real estate commissions.   « less